# What's the worst museum you've ever been to? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881 "2025-10-11T16:20:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/141 "2025-10-15T20:39:47Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Actually **the whole museum** paled in comparison To be fair, I’d be sick of the Louvre too if I spent over a month there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/142 "2025-10-15T20:41:41Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > according to modern GPS measurements it’s actually about 240 meters south of the Equator. There’s still a line down the middle of the plaza that says “Lat 0°” even though it really isn’t. Same thing with the Prime Meridian monument in Greenwich, London. I’ve never been there, much less with a GPS, but I correctly suspected that it wasn’t exact when I zoomed in on it in Google Maps and the longitude part of the URL was not quite exactly zero. According to Wikipedia at least, it’s around 100m off. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/143 "2025-10-15T21:39:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@gkster](#): > > > > The Salem Witch History Museum. I was there 30 years ago, and somehow they’re still open. Reviews are 2.9 out of 5 on Tripadvisor. Our friend group was misled by the word “history” in the attraction’s name, but it was more like a cheap haunted house. > > > > [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction\_Review-g60954-d1746107-Reviews-Witch\_History\_Museum-Salem\_Massachusetts.html](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60954-d1746107-Reviews-Witch_History_Museum-Salem_Massachusetts.html) > > There are a LOT of “witch” museums in Salem. I’m sorry that you were disappointed in the Witch History Museum – it pretty much gets its facts straight, which is more than you can say for a lot of the other ones. Maybe it was another “museum” and not the Witch History Museum? It was so long ago that I can’t be sure of the exact name. I do remember that it was on the main drag and that it was very cheesy with lots of screaming sound effects. @Marvin_the_Martian now I don’t feel so bad about missing the Book of Kells when we were in Dublin 3 years ago. We were trying to buy tickets online but the credit card confirmation wouldn’t go through and my daughter was very upset. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/144 "2025-10-15T22:35:57Z")
Oh, there were certainly missionaries working the welcome area in 2004 and 2005 when we were there. Even in Mandarin! My in-laws were there in 2004 and we were in 2005. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/145 "2025-10-15T22:39:03Z")
Thanks, but I just can’t imagine ever spending any time in Grants in this lifetime ever again! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/146 "2025-10-15T22:59:05Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Grants now has this. The website doesn’t have much, but it does have the potential to be more interesting than what you saw. > > [https://newmexicominingmuseum.org/](https://newmexicominingmuseum.org/) I think it’s worth a visit if you have the time. The thing I liked about the museum is you take an elevator down to see and walk through the main displays. Being underground in the tunnel mock-up gives you a feeling of actually being in a mine. An added plus is the museum is right next to a drive-through Rt 66 arch, so you can take an auto-selfie if you’re so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/147 "2025-10-15T23:07:09Z")
I did clinicals in Zuni in 1994, and I’m aware that Grants is basically a wide spot on the Interstate. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/148 "2025-10-15T23:10:00Z")
I saw that doco! It’s mostly how the nearby town tried to rally around the Ark Museum, by building motels, opening restaurants, etc. and they got NO business from them, even though they bought ads in a program, with coupons! Some churches even offered to host groups for free, with a deposit (as a Girl Scout, our troop did that a few times) but again, no takers. ---
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/149 "2025-10-15T23:32:32Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The Center was built by the LDS in 1963. Every island village “exhibit” has detailed histories of the first Mormon missionaries to arrive in each part of the Pacific. There is an LDS temple onsite and no coffee of carbonated beverages are served. The staff is almost entirely recruited from BYU’s Hawaii campus. I knew none of this before entering the gates. Minor nitpick, the temple is a couple of blocks away. The PCC was originally intended to be a place where college students from all over the pacific could make a little money while attending BYU Hawaii. Didn’t strike me as pushing a Mormon connection, but I knew the history going in so probably didn’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/150 "2025-10-15T23:33:26Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Same thing with the Prime Meridian monument in Greenwich, London. I think I’d actually be more surprised to find any public monument or major border line that GPS confirms to actually be in the place the pre-1900 surveyors thought it was. Those folks did an incredible job under difficult circumstances, but their tools weren’t quite up to modern snuff. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/151 "2025-10-16T00:52:30Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The Ark Encounter became a bucket-list item for me after seeing the [Roadside America article](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/53475) in 2017. My interest was further piqued after watching the Independent Lens documentary [We Believe In Dinosaurs](https://youtu.be/VZmgb8lcL9U?si=jMSf2t9_sddBPrOa) on PBS. Now I know how I’m going to waste the rest of this evening! I’m a little bit obsessed with the ark museum, but I probably won’t ever go there. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I saw that doco! It’s mostly how the nearby town tried to rally around the Ark Museum, by building motels, opening restaurants, etc. and they got NO business from them, even though they bought ads in a program, with coupons! Some churches even offered to host groups for free, with a deposit (as a Girl Scout, our troop did that a few times) but again, no takers. I think I remember reading something about other shenanigans, maybe related to taxes. They give nothing to the local community. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/152 "2025-10-16T01:02:48Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > Now I know how I’m going to waste the rest of this evening! I’m a little bit obsessed with the ark museum, but I probably won’t ever go there. If you’re still obsessed after watching the doc, you might be interested in the series that Ross Blocher did for the Oh No Ross And Carrie! podcast. (Episode 1 [here](https://maximumfun.org/episodes/oh-no-ross-and-carrie/ross-boards-the-ark-part-1-not-a-boat-edition/)) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/153 "2025-10-16T01:13:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@Ludovic](#): > > > > Same thing with the Prime Meridian monument in Greenwich, London. > > I think I’d actually be more surprised to find any public monument or major border line that GPS confirms to actually be in the place the pre-1900 surveyors thought it was. Yes, but the Prime Meridian was supposed to be _defined_ by that line at the Greenwich Observatory. It wasn’t measured from somewhere else; it went right through the middle of a certain telescope. What made it off was that a plumb line at the Observatory apparently went slightly off of going through the center of the Earth. (I don’t know what caused this. A mountain can cause plumb lines to be off, but there’s no mountains in the London area.) Later they redefined the Meridian to be a plane that does go through the center of the Earth, so that’s why the discrepancy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/154 "2025-10-16T01:39:04Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > (I don’t know what caused this. A mountain can cause plumb lines to be off, but there’s no mountains in the London area.) I don’t know the details either, but at a fine enough resolution, the Earth is way off being an idealized blob of homogenous material where local vertical as defined by local gravity points perfectly the geometric center. Earth is more uniform than some other objects like the Moon, but still isn’t perfect when you really apply your magnifying glass. See also > **[Gravity map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_map)** > > A gravity map is a map that depicts gravity measurements across an area of space, which are typically obtained via gravimetry. Gravity maps are an extension of the field of geodynamics. Readings are typically taken at regular intervals for surface analysis on Earth. Other methods include analysis of artificial satellite orbital mechanics, which can allow comprehensive gravity maps of planets, as has been done for Mars by NASA. Gravity maps typically are based on depictions of gravity anomal Measu... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/155 "2025-10-16T10:47:42Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Maybe it was another “museum” and not the Witch History Museum? It was so long ago that I can’t be sure of the exact name. I do remember that it was on the main drag and that it was very cheesy with lots of screaming sound effects. Well, to be fair the Witch History Museum IS on a main drag, is arguably cheesy, and has screaming sound effects. But they get their facts mostly right. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been to any of he Witch Houses or Museums in Salem. I’ve lived near the place for years, and things may have changed and my memory might be failing, too. But I wouldn’t go into Salem any time in October – the Tourists have Already Won. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/156 "2025-10-16T13:17:43Z")
My wife and I visited [The House on the Rock](https://www.thehouseontherock.com/) during a trip to Wisconsin this past Summer. I had heard a lot about the place and had wanted to visit it for years. Now, I wouldn’t call it the _worst museum ever_, if it can even really be called a museum, and I’m glad I was able to see it once in my life, but you could not pay me to go through that place again. Here’s what I said about it in a ‘Summer vacation’ thread I had started: > Now, I had read stuff about THotR and seen pictures, but nothing can prepare one for the sheer, enormous, batcrap insanity of the place. It is beyond bonkers. For those who may not know of it, an eccentric guy built a sprawling, maze-like house on a big hill and populated it with millions of pieces of crazy antiques / junk he obsessively collected over years. It’s like a bad acid trip, or a nightmare stuck inside the mind of a madman. It just goes on and on and on. You go from “how charmingly eccentric” to “wow, it’s a lot of weirdness to take in” to “HOLY HELL WHEN WILL THE MADNESS STOP???”. As someone who has a strong strain of OCD running in my family, this place ramped up my anxiety big time. I’ve been haunted by memories of the place ever since. [This snarky one-star TripAdvisor review about the place I found is not wrong.](https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60294-d103795-r221101010-House_on_the_Rock-Spring_Green_Wisconsin.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/157 "2025-10-16T13:49:31Z")
Oh my. I would hate this, but I want to go. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/158 "2025-10-16T15:26:36Z")
There’s a similar place in DC, called the [O St. Museum](https://www.omuseum.org/visit), but I think calling it a museum is kind of a stretch. More of an overgrown art project. Same with the [Winchester House.](https://winchestermysteryhouse.com) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/159 "2025-10-16T18:26:47Z")
> [@solost](#): > > My wife and I visited [The House on the Rock](https://www.thehouseontherock.com/) It probably gets a lot of fans of Neil Gaiman’s _American Gods_, since it was a location in that book. Have no idea if the TV series has gone there. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881/160 "2025-10-16T18:39:40Z")
Yeah, reading the book is probably how the place first got on my radar. And they definitely do go there in the series-- this video is part one of looks like 8 videos showing scenes they filmed at the house: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mofNTU8FDik/maxresdefault.jpg "All Of The American Gods Scenes Filmed At House On The Rock Part 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofNTU8FDik) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-museum-youve-ever-been-to/1023881.md?page=9)